Slayer Biography Page
The pioneering speed metal band Slayer formed in Huntington Beach, Calif. in 1982 when guitarist Kerry King and his friend, punk guitarist Jeff Hanneman, formed a heavy metal cover band with Tom Araya (vocals/bass) and Dave Lombardo (drums), two aspiring local musicians. Within two years the group was performing original material at local clubs, where they caught the attention of Brian Slagel, president of indie label Metal Blade Records, who quickly signed them. Slayer's first album, Show No Mercy, was released in December of 1983 and was panned by many critics due to its juvenile Satanic imagery and recycled riffs, though its intense, frenetic drumming broke new ground in heavy metal. A few months later Slayer released the Haunting the Chapel EP, which refined their heavy, beat-oriented sound. The slower, darker 1985 album Hell Awaits gave the band their first taste of success, selling over 100,000 copies in the U.S. despite little promotion. Now an underground sensation, Slayer caught the attention of rap impresario Rick Rubin (Run D.M.C., Beastie Boys), who signed the group to his Def Jam Records label (now American Recordings) to increase the diversity of his roster. Slayer's first album for Def Jam, 1986's Reign In Blood, was immediately hailed as a breakthrough in heavy metal by critics and fans alike, combining the speed of punk and hardcore with the guitar and imagery of more traditional metal bands - evil tracks like "Necrophobic" and "Angel of Death" clocked in at nearly 250 beats per minute! Though the album virtually established the genre of "speed metal" (later popularized by Metallica on Master of Puppets) and influenced countless other bands, Slayer gained unwelcome publicity for its rampant Satanic and Nazi imagery, despite statements by the band that they supported neither belief system. Public outcry caused CBS Records, Def Jam's distributor, to reject Reign in Blood, forcing Def Jam to seek alternate distribution through Geffen; many Slayer concerts were greeted by protesters or even canceled. With virtually no airplay and difficulties with distribution, it came as a surprise when Reign in Blood reached the Top 100 and went gold. As Slayer's popularity grew, the band began to suffer from internal disputes. Drummer Dave Lombardo left the band briefly during a 1987 tour, but later returned. Their next effort, 1988's South of Heaven, marked a departure from the speed of Reign in Blood, returning to a more traditional metal sound. Despite complaints by fans, the album went gold. Slayer became widely known for their energetic live shows, which were nearly constant during the late '80s; unfortunately these events became plagued by neo-Nazi skinheads who were drawn to the band's violent lyrics and Nazi dress, leading to ongoing problems at shows and a feud with the outspokenly anti-racist speed metal band Sepultura. 1990's Seasons in the Abyss cemented Slayer's status as one of the most popular metal acts of the decade, selling over a million copies in the U.S. alone and winning rave reviews from metal fanzines worldwide. To signal their arrival, Slayer embarked on a huge package tour, "Clash of the Titans," with Alice in Chains, Anthrax and Megadeth, usually upstaging the more established acts. In 1991 Slayer marked their 10th anniversary as a band with a double-live album, Decade of Aggression, another platinum hit. In 1992 old tensions resurfaced and Lombardo, who was allegedly spending more time with his new wife than with the band, was kicked out of the band, replaced by Paul Bostaph, formerly of Forbidden. (Lombardo later formed the group Grip, Inc.) After playing a few European festival dates with their new lineup, Slayer disappeared from the public amidst rumors the band was about to break up. In 1993 the group briefly resurfaced on the Judgement Night soundtrack, collaborating with rapper Ice-T on a cover of Exploited's "Disorder." In late 1994 the new lineup released their first album, the brutally fast Divine Intervention. Though it did not quite match the sales of the past two Slayer albums, it debuted at No. 8, proving that their uncompromising thrash-metal sound was still popular in the '90s. Divine Intervention once again drew unwelcome publicity to the band, thanks to CD art depicting the actual arm of an fan who carved the word "Slayer" into his flesh; the bloody photo brought a new round of criticism and more calls for a boycott of their CDs. After nearly two years of touring, drummer Bostaph left Slayer to work with an old side-project called The Truth About Seafood. His replacement, former Testament drummer Jon Dette, made his debut on 1996's Undisputed Attitude, which featured covers of classic punk bands such as Minor Threat and D.I. Less than six months later Dette was fired, replaced by a returning Bostaph. Slayer's latest CD, Diabolus Musica, was released in the spring of 1998 on Columbia Records. When Slayer first unleashed its violent strain of Thrash upon the Hessian public, there was a feeling that perhaps they were too extreme, that perhaps metal had been taken too far. They had created a fearful precedent for Hardcore music. The crushing level of distortion and speed Slayer produced was like a dense downpour of razorblades. Their complete immersion in horror, violence, and darkness equaled the sonic assault they committed with each track. Though metal eventually became faster, more violent, and more offensive, few can touch the focus and precision of Slayer's extreme velocities and ominous dissonance. Even today, their sound remains largely unchanged, though many of their peers softened their sound for the mainstream. Slayer maintains a dedicated following as the founding fathers of extreme music, from the gore festivities of Death Metal to the existential/political angst of Metalcore to the epic blasphemies of Black Metal.-UNKNOWN
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